Now one of the changes that must come to Africa is the idea of limited rule, I mean in term of how long one leader can stay in power. The era of president for life is not gone yet but it is on its way out and that is one of the problems with Mugabe and others.

Living fire begets cold, impotent ash.

The impatient idealist says: 'Give me a place to stand and I shall move the earth.' But such a place does not exist. We all have to stand on the earth itself and go with her at her pace.

Literature, whether handed down by word or mouth or in print, gives us a second handle on reality.

One reason why I am quite angry with what is happening in Nigeria today is that everything has collapsed. If I decide to go back now, there will be so many problems - where will I find the physical therapy and other things that I now require?

If you don't like someone's story, write your own. If you don't like what somebody says, say what it is you don't like.

There is a moral obligation, I think, not to ally oneself with power against the powerless.